The carriage stopped at the Duke Anguo’s residence.
The two of them first went to Chunxi Hall to report their return.
During this period, the couple had been going out frequently, all under the pretense of visiting Baohua Temple to pay respects to the Goddess of Childbearing.
The Duchess, née Qin, suspected nothing.
She looked at her son and daughter-in-law seated below, her gaze finally settling on her daughter-in-law’s belly.
“The third son’s wife is due next month. Everyone says this one is sure to be a boy—one of each, what great fortune.”
Zhao Shiyan and Tong Jinxian exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Lady Qin set down her teacup and said slowly, “At least the two of you have finally started taking this seriously. There’s no harm in praying to the gods and Buddhas more often, but you must pray to the right ones.”
Zhao Shiyan spoke up: “Mother, Jinxian is sincere in her devotion—”
“It’s not enough to be sincere in heart—you must also put it into practice. I’ve had Nanny Hu find some tonic herbs for you, greatly beneficial to the body. I’ll send them to the small kitchen and have the servants brew them. You must remember to drink it daily, and no more of your previous negligence and carelessness.”
Tong Jinxian kept her face lowered, her brows furrowing slightly.
Seeing this, Zhao Shiyan quickly said, “Thank you for your trouble. We will do as you say.”
Tong Jinxian had no choice but to echo his words.
The two chatted idly for a while longer before returning together to Manyuan Garden.
They had barely stepped through the courtyard gate, before the maids and matrons could even crowd around to attend to them, when a sweet, cloying female voice called out.
“Second Master, Second Madam, the Mistress sent me to deliver the medicine.”
The maidservant Jiaoli wore a smile as sweet as her face, trotting up close, carrying in her hand precisely the tonic herbs Lady Qin had just mentioned.
Nanny Li stepped forward to receive the medicine and gave her a handful of tip money.
Jiaoli still stood there gracefully, her almond-shaped eyes darting lasciviously toward the elegant Second Master.
“The Mistress also instructed that as the weather turns colder, you should have your attendants serve you carefully. Second Master, do remember to add an extra layer of clothing when you go out—catching a chill is no laughing matter.”
Tong Jinxian’s already poor complexion turned even worse, though Jiaoli paid it no mind at all.
She was Nanny Hu’s granddaughter, recently promoted to first-class maidservant in Chunxi Hall, and had people backing her.
Second Master Yan had been married for three years without producing an heir, and Lady Qin had long intended to give Jiaoli to him. If not for someone deliberately obstructing it, Jiaoli would already be a concubine by now.
Zhao Shiyan clasped his hands behind his back and nodded at her. “Convey my thanks to the Mistress.”
Only then did Jiaoli leave, reluctantly.
Zhao Shiyan glanced at Tong Jinxian and coaxed her in a gentle voice.
“Don’t take it to heart. The Mistress only means well for us. I know you don’t like drinking bitter medicine, so don’t drink it. If the Mistress asks, I’ll handle it.”
He coaxed as he reached for Tong Jinxian’s hand, only to have it shaken off.
Tong Jinxian said coldly to her maidservant, “Prepare water. The Second Master wishes to bathe.”
Zhao Shiyan was baffled. “I just bathed.”
Tong Jinxian glared at him. “I feel the Second Master didn’t wash thoroughly enough. What harm is there in washing again? After your bath, go rest in the study. My head aches at the moment, so I’m afraid I can’t attend to you.”
This was clearly aimed at the message Lady Qin had conveyed through Jiaoli.
With that, she flung aside the door curtain and went inside.
Zhao Shiyan instinctively reached out a hand, then remembering something, pressed the raised hand against his right arm.
He stopped, turned, and headed to the bathhouse.
Nanny Li followed into the inner chamber and found Tong Jinxian lounging on the heated kang by the window, sulking.
She brewed a cup of hot tea and brought it over. “There’s no need to get angry over this. No matter how seductive that Jiaoli is, the Second Master has no eyes for her. As long as the Second Master doesn’t agree, the Mistress’s attempts to force her in will be futile.”
Tong Jinxian shook her head. “I’m not angry because of her.”
Then it was still about that woman in the Tonghua courtyard.
At the mention of this, Nanny Li couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
In her opinion, Miss Xian was really making trouble for herself.
She and the Second Master were a match made in heaven, envied by all.
Unfortunately, there was one flaw—due to falling into cold water in her early years, Miss Xian had been unable to conceive, which had greatly displeased her mother-in-law.
The reason Lady Qin’s prejudice against Miss Xian had deepened was that not only could Miss Xian not bear children herself, but she also refused to allow the Second Master to take a concubine.
In Lady Qin’s view, wasn’t that simply ensuring her son would have no heir?
This matter had gradually become an intractable knot. As time passed, everyone felt compelled to weigh in.
Not to mention the servants in the household whispering and gossiping behind her back—even her natal family came to urge her to make arrangements early.
Faced with the dual pressure from both her husband’s family and her own, Miss Xian had gone from initially not caring to gradually becoming despondent.
If it were up to Nanny Li’s thinking, while infertility was certainly a monumental matter, it wasn’t without a solution.
If she didn’t want the Second Master to take a concubine, then she could elevate a trusted maidservant to bedchamber maid. Once the child was born, she could raise it under her own roof as the legitimate mother, and the problem would be solved.
If it truly stung her heart, she could dismiss the bedchamber maid afterward—not the most honorable act, but the Second Master had always indulged her and would never object.
But Miss Xian absolutely refused.
She said she would rather have the thorn buried where she couldn’t see it than have it pricking her eyes every day.
Moreover, she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life being gossiped about as “a hen that occupies the nest but won’t lay eggs”—to her, that was a tremendous humiliation.
And so the plan of surrogacy for offspring was decided upon.
Through a broker, they purchased a woman suitable for childbearing and housed her outside the estate, with the Second Master visiting her regularly to favor her with his attentions.
Once she became pregnant, Jinxian would simultaneously show signs of pregnancy.
When the time came for the child to be born, the surrogate mother would be sent far away.
After all, neither the broker nor the surrogate mother knew their true identities. As long as they tied up loose ends, there would be no trace left behind.
Though the plan was set and carried out as intended, the process was agonizing.
“Jinxian, my dear! Why put yourself through this?”
Tong Jinxian knew she was bringing this suffering upon herself.
She didn’t have to set foot in the Paulownia Flower Courtyard—she could have simply stayed in the Marquis’s mansion and waited for good news.
But she insisted on going with Zhao Shiyan every single time.
When Zhao Shiyan was intimate with the other woman, she would sit in the next room, staring at the burning incense stick, counting the time.
As if that would keep everything under her control, ensuring nothing unexpected happened or went off course.
She constantly reminded Zhao Shiyan of her presence.
She made Zhao Shiyan promise again and again that apart from necessary physical contact, he would not exchange words with the other woman, would not kiss her, would not look at her… Everything would be done in darkness, and he would leave immediately afterward, not lingering a moment longer, lest he develop any attachment.
She also demanded that Zhao Shiyan think only of her while doing the deed.
Zhao Shiyan did everything she asked.
But Tong Jinxian was still miserable.
As miserable as if she had swallowed a thousand needles.
Nanny Li stroked her back. “Why not just give up? You haven’t been eating or drinking properly lately—you’ve lost so much weight. It breaks my heart to see you like this. Besides, this method isn’t entirely foolproof. If it ever comes to light in the future, it won’t be easy to handle. Let’s think of another way.”
Tong Jinxian said nothing, only shook her head.
Zhao Shiyan urged her to give up, and her wet nurse urged her to give up too.
But how could she simply give up?
The thing she least wanted to happen had already happened.
Since childhood, anything she set her heart on had always been hers alone, which had fostered in her a nature unwilling to share.
And the one thing she was least willing to share was her husband—not with anyone.
Yet she had pushed her own man into another woman’s bed with her own hands.
Ever since it happened, her heart had been like oil being fried over fire, without a single moment of peace.
How could she let all this suffering be in vain?
She needed a result.
She needed a child.
A child that she herself had “given birth to.”
Only then could her marriage—the thing she took such pride in—remain as perfect as ever, and her life, adorned with flowers and brocade, be left without the slightest blemish.
As for that woman in the Paulownia Flower Courtyard…
She was merely a tool to bear her a child.
She would soon disappear from the lives of her and Zhao Shiyan, leaving no impact whatsoever.
“It will all be over soon.” Recalling what Zhao Shiyan had said in the carriage, Tong Jinxian murmured the words again.
Soon, her life would return to peace, just as it had always been.